I came across two new (to me) name blogs today: Appellation Mountain and Roses and Cellar Doors. It was actually this AM post, in which author Abby* noted, “Roses & Cellar Door’s post It’s Big Overseas is genius!  Why don’t we hear Olga, Joachim, Tecla, Emil – or their equivalents? – in the US?” that sent me to the mentioned R&CD post. I’m a huge fan of names with a pan-European feel — names that have an equivalent in most European languages — and I would argue the vast majority of such names are saints names. Check out the names on the R&CD list — are any of them NOT saint names?? And one of my very favorites is on there: Joachim.

*I just have to note that on Abby’s “About” page she says her and her husband’s naming style has shaken down to “classics on the birth certificate; unexpected nicknames in real life.” Very well articulated — I myself love that approach.